Rebirth (RAW Family 3)

I guess it would have to be. It wasn’t like we had a choice.

“Look,” Twitch said as he took my hand, running his thumb along mine caringly. “How about I go, and when shit is sorted, you bring your ass down with my boy?”

Wow.

He sounded like he positively hated that idea, like it was hard for him to even say out loud.

Lucky for him, that didn’t work for me.

It was crazy how much love you could harbor for another person. It coursed through my veins. Gave me life. “We go together,” I uttered gently before turning to Ethan. “A week is great. We’ll make it work. Thank you, Ethan.”

Ethan stood. “Great. I have a phone call to make. Excuse me.”

Once he was gone, Twitch’s fingers wrapped around then tugged on my wrist, and when I found his soft brown gaze, he muttered, “You don’t have to do this.”

My response was blunt. “I know I don’t.”

His brows rose. “This attitude of yours is new.” His lips thinned. “Don’t know if I’m loving it or hating it, Lex.” I couldn’t help the grin that stretched my lips. And when he looked at me, I mean really looked at me, his brows lowered marginally. “Are we really doing this?”

I tilted my head in thought. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “We are.”

“You sure?”

I had a feeling he wasn’t going to ask again. This was the time to speak up if I had any concerns or disputes. And the more I thought about it, I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do than take our first steps as a family. To grow. To rebuild what had been broken together.

As I looked over at our son, I smiled to myself. “We’re good, baby.”

In fact, nothing sounded more perfect to me.

Chapter

Forty-Seven

Lexi

“They can’t do that.” Nikki shot up out of her seat, wide-eyed and furious.

I smiled at her outrage on my behalf. When I spoke, it was gentle and calm. “They already did, sweetie.”

“But—” Nikki began to pant. “But—” She looked like she was going to be sick. Her voice weakened. “But—” She threw the back of her hand into Happy’s shoulder, and when he glared up at her, her face crumpled. “Do something!”

Happy’s expression softened. He pulled his main squeeze down by her wrist and settled her by his side. “Ain’t nothing I can do about this, babe. Besides—” Happy smiled sadly over at his brother. “—they want to go.”

“No, they don’t,” Nikki murmured. My expression gave me away. Her eyes shone brightly, and when they settled on me, her lips parted, as she stated accusingly, “You want to go?” She blinked rapidly. “You want to leave us?” She sounded utterly heartbroken. “Why?”

I knew this was going to be hard, but somehow it went differently in my head.

Standing in the corner of the room with his arms folded over his chest like a petulant child, like the broody bitch he was, Dave glared at Twitch severely. “Because of him.”

Twitch threw his arm up and shot Dave the bird. “Fuck you, David Allen.”

Dave didn’t flinch. “It’s the truth.” He pushed himself off of the wall and moped. “She’s leaving us because of your endless fuck-ups.” He looked so confused. “Regardless of who you are and what you do, she loves you. Always has.” He shrugged, appearing lost in thought. “I don’t get it.”

That was when Happy murmured, “You wouldn’t.”

The entire room went silent.

Uh oh.

Dave’s brows lowered a notch. “What’s that meant to mean?”

Happy put his hands up, conceding. “This isn’t about us.”

Dave took a step forward. “You just made it about us.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.” Happy peered at me, then Twitch, and I couldn’t help but notice the way Nikki rubbed his arm as she kept her sad eyes on her man. “I apologize.”

But Dave didn’t want to quit this conversation. “No, you shouldn’t have. But you did. So...” He threw his arms out to the sides. “Go on, Happy. Say what you want to say.”

Happy gritted his teeth in frustration. “You want me to talk?”

“Yeah.” Dave’s brows arched. “I want you to talk.”

“Okay, you wanna do this here? Fine.” Happy’s jaw remained tight, and it didn’t match the serene way in which he spoke. He peered at his ex, and his narrowed eyes told me what was coming was probably not something Dave wanted to hear. “You’re a fucking coward.”

My brows shot up to my hairline.

Snap.

This was a long time coming. The tension between Happy and Dave had been building for a while now, and it just reached boiling point.

No going back now.

Them’s was fighting words.

Dave stumbled back a step as though he’d been pushed. Placing a hand on his chest, his lips parted in shock. He blinked over at Happy, and when he found his voice, he said faintly, “That’s not fair.”

“No, it isn’t,” Happy agreed, then sighed. “But it’s the truth.” When he pointed at me as suddenly as he did, I leaned back in surprise. “Here is a person who knows what she wants. Loves the man she loves and will follow him to the ends of the earth, just because she knows, Dave. She knows she can’t live without him. And that’s a beautiful thing.” He glowered at his ex-partner. “You mock her for adoring him, but she’s braver than you ever were. Than you’ll ever be.” Happy’s stern expression fell away, and all that was left was pure sadness. His tone matched his wretchedness. “So you tell yourself you don’t need me as much as I need you. You be the dismal bastard that was created by your fear. It’s all good, baby.” His tone darkened. “But don’t you mock her for being the person you couldn’t be.”

Twitch reached into his pocket, pulled out a handful of chocolate rainbow-colored candy, and threw a couple into his mouth, chewing slowly. “That’s what I’ve been sayin’.” I flung my elbow into his side and he looked down at me, annoyed. “What?” He winked at my unsubtle eye roll and held a chocolate up to my mouth.

Despite myself, my lips parted, because... chocolate.

The silence was suffocating, and when I turned to face Twitch, my expression screamed, “What the frick?”

Twitch sighed and his lip curled. Before he spoke, his face gentled. “Yo, Dave,” he called out, leaning back and resting his arm behind my head on the sofa. When Dave peered at him, dejected, Twitch jerked his chin toward him. “Why you makin’ my brother miserable, man?”

Okay. So, Twitch was about as subtle as an anal probe.

Dave scoffed. “I’m making him miserable?” Dave spun to face Happy. “I said I was sorry!”

Happy stood, matching Dave’s octave. “You made me move out!”

Dave’s face crumbled. “I made a mistake!”

“So let me move back in!” Happy thundered.

Dave boomed, “I’ve been trying to for months. I just didn’t know how!”

To that, Happy had no response. But Twitch did. He put his lips to the shell of my ear, sounding smug as all get out. “And that’s how it’s done.” As I leaned into him, smiling to myself, his arm tightened around my shoulders. When neither Happy nor Dave spoke, Twitch got sick of the way they stood there looking extremely puzzled by the last minute’s exchange. He clicked his tongue, “Bro.” Happy turned back to face him, and Twitch uttered a bored, “You gonna kiss and make up or what? ‘Cause I gotta tell ya.” He made an uninterested face. “I’m kinda done with this bullshit.”

Nikki’s small smile stretched wide as she watched from the sideline, and when Happy took his time, she put her hand to his thigh and gently pushed him toward Dave. And after what felt like a lifetime, when Happy moved, so did Dave.

The two men embraced like lovers reunited, and when they kissed, I felt their broken connection fuse, mending right in front of my eyes. They kissed slowly, and my heart began to swell at the way their love filled the room.

Nikki’s rested her

clamped hands under her chin, looking blissfully happy. But when her eyes caught something by the door, her face turned alarmed and she let out a startled, “Uh....”

And when I turned back, I saw why.

A.J. stood there, watching Happy and Dave rekindle their bond. He didn’t look upset or disgusted. Just curious.

The light grunt that escaped me had everyone turning toward my son, and when they did, they stilled completely, frozen in shock.

It took him a while before he spoke, but I knew he would eventually.

“Uncle Happy,” he asked inquisitively, “Why are you kissing Dave?”

My heart stuttered.

Oh, God, I wasn’t prepared for this talk. Why was I not prepared for this talk? I knew it would come eventually. I should have been ready for this talk!

Happy’s looked panicked. “Uh....”

“Well...” Dave’s cheeks were flushed and he swallowed hard. “You see, little dude....” Dave trailed off, not sure what to say, looking to me for help.